Fishing Pond
Cut out 20 fish shapes from poster board; label ten of the fish with the numbers
1-10, place sticker dots on the other fish 1-10. Attach a magnet to the mouth
of each fish with numbers. Place the magnetic fish in a small pool and the sticker
fish into a basket, and have your class go fishing. The goal of the game is
to draw a fish from the basket, count the dot stickers, and then go fishing
for the fish that has the correct number to match the dots. An easy way to make
a fishing pole is to cut a piece of dowel and the attach a string with a magnet
at the end.
Dog Bone Counting
Draw six dog houses on a manila folder. Write a number/draw dots (depending
on your classes counting level) on each house. Provide your children with cut
out dog bones and have them put the correct number of bones on each house.
Animal Memory
Purchase the Animal Memory game or make your very own. To make one copy 2 pictures
of each animal and glue them on to poster board squares. Turn the squares over
and select to. When you flip over to of the same cards you have a match. The
child with the most matches wins. The number of cards you put out will depend
on the skill level of your class.
Baby Animal Matching
Make an animal bulletin for your class. Draw and cut out five mother animals
(attach a piece of yarn to each animal) and attach them to the right side of
your bulletin board. Attach five corresponding baby animal pictures (with a
small piece of Velcro on each one) to the left side of your board. The goal
is to match the mother animal to the baby animal by attaching the string from
the mother to the Velcro on the correct baby.
Pet Shop
Set your home living area up as a Pet Shop. Bring in a cash register, play money,
leashes, stuffed animals, kennels, brushes, etc. Label each item with a price.
The children can take turns shopping and working the register. Encourage them
to add up the prices, write receipts, and improve math skills.